2023’s playoff curtain-raiser round is one of the books that Martin Truex Jr. would likely wish to erase from memory. To kick things off, he said a heartbreaking farewell to his long-time former sweetheart, Sherry Pollex, who courageously wrestled with cancer for nearly a decade. And, perhaps shadowed by this heavy heartache, Truex Jr.’s racing mojo took a hit, teetering him on the brink of playoff elimination.

However, rallying back and racking up the needed points to keep his playoff dreams alive, it appeared the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman was gearing up for the next curveball. But just as things seemed on the upswing, Denny Hamlin?s right-hand man in the pit, his crew chief, threw a spanner in the works with some audacious comments about the looming playoff battles?and that too, against his own stablemate.

Denny Hamlin?s crew chief is planning to go against his own teammate in the playoffs

In the competitive world of racing, there comes a time when team colors blur, and it’s every driver for themselves. Yet for Joe Gibbs Racing, it seems this dog-eat-dog phase has come a tad early. Recent comments from Denny Hamlin?s crew chief, Chris Gabehart, suggest that despite a sea of rivals in the playoffs, their crosshairs are firmly set on Martin Truex Jr., sensing he might be the dark horse in the upcoming playoff round.

Truex, the crown jewel of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series regular season and recent bearer of personal sorrow due to the loss of his long-time ex-partner Sherry Pollex, might find little sympathy on the track. In the race for glory, there’s no room for sentiment, as proven by Denny Hamlin?s right-hand man, echoing NASCAR’s competitive spirit, who pulled no punches in a recent press address.

Gabehart opined, “They are going to be tough to beat. I know what they have. I know what their resources are. I work very closely with them. If you get down once, shame on the situation, get down twice, shame on them. They aren?t going to get down twice. They are going to be tough to beat. So, I am ready for the challenge. But I will guarantee you, they will bounce back stronger in round two.”

Though internal competition might raise some eyebrows, for the bigwigs at JGR, nothing could be more exhilarating than watching their top guns duel it out in the final showdown.

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With three out of four drivers in the playoffs, Joe Gibbs is all smiles

It’s clear that Joe Gibbs Racing is sitting pretty with a trifecta of teams in the thick of the Round of 12. As they gear up to set the Lone Star State ablaze this weekend, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Christopher Bell are no strangers to the winner’s circle.

This hat trick of advancing teams has Joe Gibbs on cloud nine. Reflecting on their recent race in Bristol, an ecstatic Gibbs remarked, “It means so much. This is our playoff. Way it?s designed, it?s so tough to get from one round to the next. It means so much for us. It?s Toyota. It?s our sponsors. […] It?s just all the way across the board. To have three cars advance is really a big deal for us.”

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While his cup of joy overflows now, he’ll undoubtedly be crossing his fingers, hoping his trio of aces race ahead to the subsequent rounds. And given the powerhouse talents he’s assembled under his banner, it wouldn’t be a long shot.